33 Hot Rod trunk & hood opening dimension

[Dodgeman]

Can someone tell me why on page 434 it says to cut the lip to 3/4", the lip on my 33 is 7/8" do I really need to cut it to 3/4".

Also can someone tell me what is the dimension from the firewall to Grill dimension mine is 42-1/4" Hood is 42-3/4", grill is adjusted all the way forward, am I going to have to remove 3/4" from hood?

Thanks,
Bob

[wrp]

I'm not really qualified to answer this but the hood to grill length is a good thing so you can trim the fitment in once everything is mounted and tightened down. trimming the back of the hood (cab side) to the gap you desire is much easier if you have a half inch too much than if you have too little. On the trunk I am going to make a guess that the 3/4 inch space positions the weather stripping to be most effective. Reason I am not qualified is I had a hard time with these items and ended up getting a shop to do it for me.

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[HotRodHook]

That's right. ALL of the panels are oversized so they can be trimmed to fit with your preferred gap. And I believe the 3/4" lip is for the weatherstrip to fit properly.

Who knew the bodywork would be half the build? It has been truly intimidating. I'm muddling through and getting better with each panel. Next is block sanding. Woohoo!

Hook

[Dodgeman]

Thanks for the information. Like you Hook, I am also muddling thru the body work. Mechanical, electrical no problem but... body work is a PIA!!!

Bob

[wrp]

Before you start hacking around on lengths of panels (hood, doors, trunk), there is a great discussion about the best results for the gap widths. I cannot recall what the recommendation was but we went with a wider gap just to make sure there were no issues in the post paint environment. I have learned that my kit was one of the first three kits out of Beta on the production run. It could be that my experience is vastly different from the mainstream builders here. We sent the car to a fiberglass structural engineer who spent about two weeks reinforcing the structural support in certain areas including length and height of door panel lips, window slot lips, body between taillights, the side panels and extensive fender work.

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[AJT '33]

Having just completed all the fitting and going to reset it, I have found that I should have zero gapped the whole thing and only have gapped it right before final primer. If i were to sdo it again I would fit the whole thing with all hardware and zero gap (even if some areas need to be left loose to open and close) THEN go ahead and put the smallest gaps in (3/16") until I am happy and then and only then adjust further. Saves a lot of pain later when you realize you should have not tightened one area to be able to adjust another. In the end its all worth it and it will be as you want.

[erlihemi]

While your working on the trunk I seem to recall the FFR supplied gasket also needed the glass slightly thinner to get the seal to slip on. Check what they supplied first. Interesting that the new HR version is claiming 50% less body work. Hmm, we all wish FFR had put 50% more time in the BETA phase of development. While your trimming flanges I also cut my rear window flange down to 1/2" just in the center area between the seats and left the curved ends as is. I needed just a little wider mail slot at the top for my eye position when checking the blind spot. Assuming your using the Hard top...

[wrp]

I guess two other things about the trunk come to my mind. First, the Tim Whiteaker Gas shock kits should be part of the kit. I've run the trunk both ways and I love the assist the kit gave in fitment to the curvature and the overall structural reinforcement. Second, the area between the tail lights is exceptionally weak. There are a lot of good solutions on this forum. We chose to install a false bottom compartment with a lid to stiffen up the section. Where it makes a difference is in the latching mechanism. The weakness sometimes would prevent the latch from engaging.

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